For Her Life
by Kat Nightfox
Summary: In Season 3, Episode 10: What if Merlin hadn't used an aging spell but instead chose to use a gender-changing spell? Methinks events would have played out a bit differently...


**Author's Note:** The following story was inspired by the following prompt at kinkme_merlin:

Arthur/Merlin. Instead of an aging spell, Merlin employs a gender-changing spell. Upon finding such a lovely, raven-haired sorceress conveniently in his bedroom, Arthur is instantly smitten, and offers her freedom in exchange for having his way with her. And while Merlin wanted Arthur all along, he never thought it'd be like this. Dub-con, FTW!

I tried filling it there but I must have done something wrong because they took it down the same day without any explanation. Ah well. stupid!author is truly stupid *wears the cone of shame*

**Warnings: **The following story contains **Dub-con**, **Coercion **& **Gratuitous** **Smut!**

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><p><strong>For Her Life<strong>

by Nightfox

"Morgana? Uther will never believe that Morgana is responsible!"

"Perhaps, Arthur will...talk him round."

"Uther thinks Arthur's enchanted! Anything Arthur does is going to strengthen that belief. I fear that's not going to save Gwen."

"If we can't expose the true sorcerer then we must invent one."

"Hem?"

"What if a sorcerer was caught planting an identical poultice in Arthur's chambers? Uther would have no choice but to release Gwen!"

"And do you know a sorcerer who is stupid enough to get caught doing such a thing?"

Merlin cocked his head to the side and smiled slightly.

"Me!"

Gaius followed Merlin into his room but remained silent as he watched the boy flipping through a book of magic.

"If I disguise myself it won't matter if I'm caught, I can use magic to escape and then change back into myself. They'll think that the sorcerer has just vanished into thin air."

"Well no matter how you disguise yourself I fear _Arthur_ will recognize you."

"Not if I'm...a girl. He grinned.

"A gender changing spell? Those are notoriously difficult and unpredictable, if the spell doesn't hold you'll be exposed! In more ways than one..."

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><p>"You know me better than anyone Gaius. Do you recognize me?<p>

"Something of you in the eyes...and the cheekbones...and the mouth." He reached down to push Merlin's long, curling ebony locks back."

"Not to mention the ears."

"He won't see my ears!"

Gaius raised a brow mockingly.

"The dress doesn't fit."

"Yes, well I got it from Lady Eleanor's wardrobe. Somehow I didn't think I'd lose this much height!"

"Well, we can't do anything about the bodice, apparently Lady E is _quite_ well endowed but we can at least hem the blasted thing so you can run in it. What about shoes?"

"I didn't think about that."

Gaius shook his head and went to one of the cupboards jammed into the corner of his overcrowded work-room and after a few moments of rummaging came back with a pair lacy of golden slippers.

"Gaius...why do you have women's shoes in your wardrobe?"

"Never mind that. You just be glad I do! No more questions, off with that dress."

Half an hour later Merlin was pulling up the hood of the dark blue cloak he'd also liberated from Lady Eleanor's wardrobe. He was once again clad in the deep red gown and the golden tips of the lacy shoes were peeping out from under it's appropriately shortened hem. He'd had to stuff the toes of the slippers with rags to keep them on. They were suspiciously large for a woman...

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><p>Arthur caught a glimpse of blue fabric as it swished out of sight around the corner leading to his bedchamber. He followed.<p>

"Show yourself. Who are you?"

The slender cloaked figure spun around reluctantly and Arthur was immediately struck dumb by the face that confronted him. She was...beautiful! Stunningly so. He could see cascades of curling black hair highlighting fine grained lily white skin that even Morgana couldn't rival. Her eyes dominated all. They were deep as lapis and as clear as sapphires. She had the most astonishing bone structure he'd ever seen on a woman. Cheekbones high, fragile and prominent were undercut by a narrow, delicate jaw and softly rounded chin. Her elegantly sculpted nose perched perfectly over wildly sensuous, deep raspberry lips. Those lips were working soundlessly while color bloomed bewitchingly across those lovely flaring cheeks.

It took Merlin a few seconds to find a name. Finally one popped into his head and since his inspiration was safely back in Ealdor, none of this could lead to her.

"I...am...Drudwen...the...Magnificent!"

_You certainly are magnificent, that's true enough._

"Is it you who planted the poultice in my bed?"

"You've caught me red handed, I have no choice but to confess."

Her voice was low and husky. Arthur felt his breeches tighten at the sound of it. He suspected her words were meant to be defiant but instead she simply sounded shaken. He thought of Gwen's trembling when she was brought before Uther.

"An innocent girl almost died because of your actions!"

He brought the point of his sword up close to her chest as he was speaking. She drew herself up, throwing her shoulders back, straining away from the blade. The movement caused her cloak to part and brought her cleavage into sudden, startling prominence. Arthur found his mouth going dry as stared at the creamy, swelling flesh exposed by a surprisingly ill-fitted bodice. The gown was rich and expensive but it didn't fit the girl well at all. The soft garnet red fabric slid off one narrow shoulder and was threatening to expose the young woman's entire left breast. Arthur found himself licking his lips as the firm, delicious curve was revealed.

"I suppose your father will have to release her now that you've caught me."

The Prince lowered his sword and stepped closer to the lovely enchantress.

"Yes, I suppose he must. You'll burn for this you know?"

"Yes."

Her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper now.

"You don't have to."

"What? Don't you want your _sweetheart_ freed?"

She spat the words out but once again, they didn't sound defiant, just frightened.

"Of course."

He pushed back her hood and the light glinted in her raven hair, sparking flashes of blue in the tousled curls. Her plush mouth was trembling. He ran a thumb softly across those sinfully curved lips before tilting her face up. His eyes roamed hungrily over her exquisite features. Though he was fairly certain he'd never before seen this girl, there was still something familiar about her.

"Don...don't you want to hear of my plan?"

"Later. Have we met?"

Merlin was panicking. Arthur's leering was greatly disturbing. This was _not _the plan!

"No, no, definitely not!"

"Your eyes, we've met somewhere before."

He sounded much too certain for the sorcerer's comfort.

"I...I...sent you dreams!"

Arthur could well believe that. The creature seemed expressly made for night time activities. He smirked down at her breasts. She was practically panting in fright now, her chest heaving most enticingly.

"Wet dreams at that, eh?"

Merlin felt his now dainty jaw drop. While the Prince often featured in his own wet dreams, they certainly had never gone anything like this! The man's cerulean eyes were hot in a way the warlock had never seen before. They glinted down at him greedily. Arthur snaked one well-muscled arm around Merlin's narrow waist and drew the mage's wildly trembling form up flush against the hardness of his body. The man-turned-woman gasped as he felt the Royal's obvious arousal against his taut belly. His eyes flew to meet that heated gaze.

The Prince was enjoying the reactions from the sorceress in his arms. For an evil creature bent on his destruction, she was amazingly flustered by his attentions. She seemed almost...innocent. Clearly, the girl was a good actress. Still, he was enjoying her shivering reticence. Her heated curves felt amazing pressed against his own sharper angles. She was very slender, willowy even, but she was still soft to the touch. He thrust one powerful thigh between her slim legs and unclasped her cloak with his free hand. He pulled her up his leg, freeing her of the pool of blue fabric and forcing her feet from the floor. She straddled his thigh, her soft sex resting almost on his hip.

Merlin tried to jerk away when he felt his...well...his girl-parts come into contact with Arthur's thigh. His own slender leg was pressed against the Prince's hard cock and all he could think was _no, no, no! This isn't supposed to happen!_ However the man chuckled at his feeble attempts to free himself and continued to draw him up, pressing them together from chest to groin.

"So feisty! Little witch, you don't have to die you know."

So shocked was Merlin that his eyes flew to the Prince's and he immediately stopped struggling.

"Wha...what do you mean?"

Again, the girl's voice was a throaty purr. That voice made the heat pooling in his groin flare even higher.

"You can't be unaware of the effect you have on men. I daresay it's just one more weapon in your arsenal, isn't it Sorceress?"

The mage remained mute, shocked as this side of the Prince was revealed to him.

"Just let me have you and I'll help you escape."

The sorcerer gaped in stunned surprise at Arthur's lewd proposal.

"What about your...paramour? All the castle is whispering of her."

"She'll never know because you are going to leave Camelot and never return. Because if you do, I won't be so lenient next time."

As he spoke, Arthur was easing the girl's skirt higher and higher, bunching the fabric in one fist until he could slip his hand under the edge of the fabric. The hand not holding the witch to him found her soft, rounded buttocks and began kneading the firm flesh.

The only warning the Prince had was the hot flare of gold that flashed across the girl's lazuline eyes. Before he could properly react though he found himself clobbered with a metal vessel of some sort. It clanged roughly off his head and he lurched forward with a pained grunt. He landed atop the slim enchantress and while he felt her struggle out from beneath him he was too busy clutching his head and trying to re-focus his eyes to immediately stop her.

Merlin sprinted from the room as fast as his long trailing skirt and too large shoes would allow. He'd only had time to hem the front of the gown and the back dragged heavily on the stones of the corridor leading from the Prince's chamber. He rounded a corner and frantically whispered the counter-spell to his self enchantment. Nothing happened. He heard Arthur shout behind him and he ran for it once again. Diving into the empty chamber where he'd left his own clothing he tried the spell again and again. In his panic he failed to close the door completely. He was muttering the spell a third time when he felt a powerful hand grasp his upper arm. Glowing golden eyes flew up to meet a furious cerulean glare.

He felt the magic sputter and die as the Prince wordlessly dragged him back to his chamber. _What is happening? Why won't the counter-spell work? Oh God!_ He went limp in Arthur's grip and with a growl, the man swung him off his feet and carried him the rest of the way.

Arthur tossed the girl on the bed and came down on top of her. She had at least ceased struggling and instead lay quiet beneath him. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Do that again and I'll kill you long before my father has the chance burn you. Understand?"

She nodded wordlessly.

Raging anger now fueled his lust and Arthur found he wanted the sorceress even more than before she tried to flee. She would _submit_ to him! He yanked at the loose neckline of her gown until he managed to free one peach-like breast from it's fabric prison. He latched onto it with teeth and tongue and grinned when he felt the witch arch beneath him. The girl's hands were in his hair now, feebly pushing at him even as the long slender digits were winding into the golden strands. She really wasn't making much effort to resist. He laved one stiff strawberry nipple with the flat of his tongue, pinching the other through the thin, fine material of the costly dress. She gasped and moaned.

"No! Oh God! Please! Oh, no!"

Her voice was saying no but her body was most definitely saying yes. He'd had enough wenches over the years to know when a girl was truly unwilling. Had that been the case here he'd have simply called the guards to haul the witch away and that would have been the end of it. However the delectable siren protested a bit _too _much. He left her breast to trail kisses up her long, slender throat, biting and sucking a path to her lips. Those gasping little denials were silenced as he covered her bewitching pout with his own hungry mouth. He invaded that hot moist cavern with his tongue, sweeping across her pearly teeth before delving deeper and drinking ravenously from that honeyed well.

Merlin was twisted up inside his mind. Arthur was kissing him. _Arthur was kissing him_! He'd wanted the prat to be his own for years now. _This_ was not the way he wanted it to happen. However, it seemed this body of his was responding as shamelessly as his usual form probably would were the Prince ever to kiss him this way. Unfamiliar moisture was seeping between his thighs and he felt the tight throbbing of his clitoris as Arthur's tongue rhythmically fucked his mouth.

_Oh God! This isn't happening! Please, _not_ like this!_

Greedy hands were working his skirt higher and higher until he felt one rough palm cup his weeping sex. There was a groan from the man molesting him and he felt blunt fingers part his nether lips and begin circling that pulsing little button of flesh that seemed to be dominating his consciousness.

"So wet, so eager! I take it you agree to my proposal?"

The confused sorcerer focused on the husky words and shook his head in negation.

"Come on, it's me or the pyre. One offers pleasure, so much pleasure. I promise I'll make it good for you, sweet witch. So good...or it's a fiery painful death for you come tomorrow. What shall it be? Ecstasy or the final agony?"

The counter-spell hadn't worked and the plan had gone spectacularly wrong. Merlin didn't know what to do. His body was on fire, the lips caressing his throat and the fingers stroking his soft wet cunt were driving him mad. He couldn't think. There was a reason he had to say no. He just couldn't think of it at the moment.

"Yes or no, my pretty little sorceress? Tell me!"

Merlin capitulated with the tiniest of nods, closing his eyes in shame as he did so. This really wasn't what he wanted despite what his traitorous whore of a woman's body was saying to the Prince. The heavy, heated weight pressing him into the soft bed was withdrawn. He felt his gown being lifted and he mutely raised his slim hips, back and arms in turn to help Arthur ease it off. His ridiculous shoes were swiftly removed; he heard the soft thud of them hitting the floor. He kept his eyes closed. If he didn't look at the man he wouldn't have to remember this moment every time he saw the prat's face for the rest of their lives.

Arthur couldn't repress a small gasp of lusty delight when the girl was finally exposed fully to his acquisitive gaze. She was easily the most beautiful woman he'd ever bedded. Her legs were long, slender and elegant. The tuft of soft ebony curls at the apex of her thighs contrasted sharply with snowy white skin so flawless that she _must_ use magic to maintain it thus. Her hips were slender but still swelled in a lovely curve away from an extremely narrow waist. A slim ribcage supported two firm, perfectly rounded breasts crowned by sweet, dainty pink nipples. The only blemish he could see anywhere was a smallish patch of darker skin just beneath her breast bone. It was a strange mark, appearing perfectly circular. He briefly wondered what could leave such a mark but he soon lost interest as it was a minor imperfection to say the least. The rest of her was beyond lovely.

He parted her thighs and settled between them. He bent his head and nuzzled into the soft, wet curls between her sweetly spread thighs. He flicked his tongue out and tasted her for the first time. A throaty gasp rose from the girl to join the involuntary moan that escaped his lips as her flavor coated his tongue with salty sweetness. The scent of her earthy musk was a heady delight. He licked her from bottom to top with one broad sweep of his tongue and smiled as she writhed and mewled in pleasure. Her juices flowed generously and he lapped them up hungrily, dipping into that delectable honey pot over and over as her cries became more desperate.

The young sorcerer was lost. The unfamiliar sensations this body was sending to his brain were overwhelming in their intensity. He'd only been a woman for a few hours and now his newly acquired essence was being plundered. He was unable to make heads or tails of the exhilarating pleasure so he lay helpless beneath the assault. He let his body respond however it was so inclined. His hips bucked and he writhed all over as Arthur used his lips, tongue and even his sharp teeth to bring the trembling mage to some unimaginable peak. Merlin wasn't sure, it was so different in this body, but he was fairly certain he was about to have an orgasm as his clit throbbed, pulsed and twitched. It was swelling and tightening almost unbearably. Finally he felt everything in his body clench tight and he was keening and shaking and cumming in the Prince's eager mouth. The sudden gush of fluid was the strangest sensation, almost as strange as the experience that led to it. He couldn't stop shaking.

Before he could gather his senses Arthur shifted away from him. He cried out with loss only to hear the prat chuckle. He heard the soft rustle of clothing hitting the floor.

"Don't worry sweet witch, I'm not done with you just yet."

He still didn't want to open his eyes but he felt the bed dip as the Prince returned. Strong hands were suddenly under his boneless thighs and he was being lifted. He felt his legs draped around Arthur's hips and he clenched his jaw knowing what was coming. All the times he'd dreamed of having that cock inside him, he'd never once imagined he'd be wearing a woman's body when it happened. He felt a tear escape one tightly closed eyelid. More tears squeezed out as he felt that blunt head nudge aside the lips of his new cunt.

Arthur breached the girl and grunted in genuine surprise at her tightness. A virgin? He eased in further and sure enough met the taut resistance of a maidenhead. He felt a small pang of conscience but soon dismissed it. What meaning had sexual virtue when measured against the rest of the witch's crimes? He was giving her life and freedom, surely the cost of her hymen was paltry in comparison. He thrust forward.

Merlin screamed as he felt his insides tear. A hand was swiftly clamped over his mouth, cutting off his cries as Arthur began to pump into the virginal not-woman. The sorcerer sobbed in pain. Suddenly Arthur stilled inside him.

"Shh, shhh, it's alright, it will pass. I promise, try and relax, it will get better."

Strong arms came around him and the Prince began to kiss him again. Soft soothing kisses to his temples, forehead, cheeks and tightly closed eyes. Finally Arthur's lips touched his own and began to try to coax them apart. His hips remained stationary but he did not withdraw from the mage's body. He simply kissed him and held him close until the pain eased and the shaking stopped.

When the girl's sobs ceased and her body no longer shook, Arthur finally allowed himself to stroke into her tight, wet heat. He'd never felt anything like this magical creature. His nerve endings were all sparking and the pleasure was the most intense he'd ever experienced. He moved slowly at first, in deference to the young woman's inexperience but after a while he could no longer hold back and he began thrusting into her yielding softness with faster, deeper, harder strokes. She clutched at him with her soft, elegant hands, long slender fingers gripping his arms tightly as she gasped and began to lift her hips to meet him thrust for thrust. His groaning was soon joined by her breathless gasps and kittenish mewling. The noises the girl made were intoxicating.

The Prince made sure the maiden found her pleasure again before spilling himself inside her. As he pumped her full of his seed he threw his head back and howled in ecstasy. He continued to pump himself inside the girl until his cock began to soften and grow over-sensitive. Then he slumped forward and covered her trembling body with his own. He pressed languorous, open mouthed kisses all along the long length of her slender white neck as his own shaking subsided. He leaned up slightly and pressed more kisses to the edge of her fragile jaw and finally met her lips again. This time she kissed him back instead of simply submitting.

She finally opened glazed sapphire eyes, her long inky lashes still spiky with moisture. He smoothed tangled raven curls from her silky white forehead and pressed another kiss there.

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you put that poultice in my bed?"

Her eyes closed once again and her soft mouth tightened.

"Were you trying to hurt Gwen?"

She shook her head almost violently.

"Then why?"

"It was supposed to be me," she whispered huskily.

"What was supposed to be you?"

Merlin had thought about this. It's why he'd chosen to take a woman's form in the first place. Plausibility.

"You were supposed to fall in love with _me_, not her. The spell was designed to make you fall for the first girl you saw upon awakening. I was waiting outside your chamber that morning but she happened to be passing your door at the exact moment you left it. I missed my chance."

"Is that why you came back? To try again?"

She nodded her head, eyes still tightly closed.

"Why did you want me to fall in love with _you_?"

He couldn't help asking the question. She seemed so..._shamed_ was the only word that came to mind.

Her incredible lazuline eyes opened again and looked at him with such emotion he was taken aback.

"Because I've loved you for years and you don't even know I exist."

The answer slipped from Merlin with painful honesty. Had he been less scrupulous with his power he could easily see himself yielding to the temptation to make Arthur love him back with the same intensity with which the warlock loved him.

"Then we have met! I knew it! Where? How?"

"It doesn't matter. I was wrong to try, it was wrong and now Guinevere is facing execution because of me. I never meant that to happen, please believe me! I never meant anyone to get hurt!"

He looked into the girl...Drudwen's earnest blue gaze and somehow he accepted that she was telling the truth. However, Gwen's life remained in danger and as much as he wanted to keep this lovely creature in his bed and never let her leave, he'd not forgive himself if any harm came to the gentle maidservant.

"Alright, I believe you. However you need to make this right. Come on, time to get dressed."

She nodded sadly and he rolled off her, searching the floor for their discarded clothing. Her dress was easily found as were her absurdly large shoes. He glanced at her dainty feet and wondered about those shoes. He looked at them closer and noticed the rags stuffed inside.

"Who's shoes are these? They _can't_ be yours."

"My mistress's cast offs. She has huge feet!"

He laughed for the first time in days.

"Massive! She must be built like a troll!"

"Well, she's a bit taller than the one your father married but otherwise..." She grinned at him then and that impish smile hit him like a fist in the gut. He knew that smile, knew it like the back of his own hand. He looked Drudwen over very closely.

"You know, you look remarkably like someone I know."

"I told you, I sent you dreams of me."

"No, I didn't mean that. You look just like...how old are you?"

Merlin answered without thinking.

"Twenty."

Arthur sighed. She was Merlin's age, that meant she couldn't be his sister. He knew Merlin's mother had once lived in Camelot but that was over twenty years ago, _before_ Merlin was born. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Come on Drudwen, it's time to go confess to my father."

"You said you'd let me go."

Her response was soft and subdued. He'd expected her to squawk in protest, instead she regarded him chidingly with Merlin's eyes.

"I promised to help you escape and I will, but if you don't confess to my father then Guinevere is going to die. Do you really want that?"

The mage shook his head emphatically.

"No! Of course not."

"Then trust me. You can't by any chance cast other spells besides the one that hurls objects around, can you?"

The sorcerer nodded cautiously.

"Yes, I can do...other things."

"If I come to your cell tonight and let you out, can you distract the guards so that we can slip by them? I know a way out of the city. It lies beneath the castle but we need to bypass the dungeon guards to reach it."

"I...think...I can...manage that."

"Alright then, I will come to you tonight."

Merlin smiled at that. This could work! He'd confess to the King, Gwen would be released and then Arthur would help him to escape. Now all he had to do was find a way to break this damn spell!

She turned away from him, sliding to the far edge of the bed to stand and dress. It was then he noticed the scar on her back. It was quite low down, almost at the base of her spine. He'd seen all sorts of scars in his time but never one quite like this one. He leaned over and stretched out a hand to cover the mark with his hand.

"What did this?"

She stiffened under his touch and wriggled away from his exploring fingers. He'd still had enough time to determine that there was a deep gouge in the flesh that had apparently never quite filled in.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Slipping the gown swiftly over his head, Merlin covered up his revealing scars as quickly as he could. He reached for the shoes and crammed his little feet into them.

"We have to see your father as soon as possible. We need to get Gwen out of the dungeon. She's already been in there too long."

Arthur nodded and reluctantly let her keep her secrets. She was right, it was time to think of Guinevere.

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><p>He repeated the same story to Uther that he'd concocted for Arthur. However this time, he couldn't stop the tears that streamed down his face while he made his confession. He noted Morgana's obvious confusion with no small degree of satisfaction but it didn't help ease the confusion he was feeling over everything that had taken place before his interview with the King. He was still shaken by Arthur's actions, blackmailing him into sex in exchange for the promise of his freedom. Then there was the tangle of emotion and sensation that had emerged from that fevered coupling. The Prince's apparent willingness to allow him to use his powers to aid in his escape was another wonder.<p>

However, what was truly confusing him was Arthur's behavior toward him once the deed had been done. He'd been so lewd in the beginning. His lust had clearly been in control and it had been lust unaccompanied by any sort of tenderness as he threatened the mage so callously. However, afterward, he'd been gentle...almost _loving_. It was strange; it was so strange and it broke his heart. He loved the man. He knew that now. He'd been aware for quite some time that his feelings for the royal prat had been much more complicated than mere friendship. Merlin had never before allowed himself to give name to the emotion and now he could not escape the knowledge no matter how hard he tried.

The sorcerer continued to sob as he was led from the council chamber to the dungeon. At least he had the knowledge that Gwen was to be released as consolation. At the heart of it, this had all been for her life.

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><p>"Merlin? What happened?"<p>

"I can't break the spell it's too powerful"

"You have to try again."

"I have tried, it's no good I'm stuck like this."

"Not for long, Uther will have you burned at the stake!"

"Arthur...Arthur said he'll let me out, tonight once the castle is asleep."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"He, oh God, I don't want to talk about it."

"Merlin!"

"I don't know if he'll keep his word, Gaius...I...never thought...he was..."

Merlin's blue eyes peered up at him awash in tears but there was more than simple fear radiating from them. There was a deep pain and shame in that lazuline gaze.

"There must be another way to break the spell."

"There's only one thing I can think of. In the book of Gahla there is an antidote that can undo such gender-changing spells."

"If he lets me out can you meet me in the forest?"

"I'll be in on the north shore of the lake before dawn, Merlin."

"If he...if he doesn't let me go...how long will it take to make this antidote?"

"Longer than I fear you have. If he won't let you go, try to buy as much time as you can."

* * *

><p>"It's time, sweet witch."<p>

Arthur was unaccompanied, keys in hand. Before Merlin could blink the door was open and the Prince was surging inside. He swept the warlock into a tight embrace and covered his mouth with his own.

"We haven't much time. I told the guards I wanted to...interrogate you...more personally. But they'll be back soon enough. Come on, out of that dress."

The sorcerer's eyes widened.

"Here? Now? You want to..."

"Oh, I'd love to, my fair charmer, but we truly haven't the time. Now strip."

"What for?"

Arthur gave a loud and impatient sigh.

"I swear you don't just look like him, now you sound like him! Just get undressed damn it! We need to make the guards believe you are still in here."

"Ah! Alright, I understand."

Finally the exasperating girl began to pull her dress off. When she stood naked before him again, he had to swallow a few times before his voice would work.

"Stuff the dress with straw and lay it on the pallet."

Merlin followed instructions and soon Arthur was leaning over his shoulder with a handful of what looked like black horse hair. He arranged it to look roughly like the back of a head and then swung the thin scratchy blanket issued to most prisoners over the whole construct.

The Prince clasped her slender hand in his and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on, we have to go quickly."

"I'm leaving Camelot naked?"

"No! Of course not, idiot! I've a dress ready for you in the tunnel. Now do your...thing, distract those guards!"

With a raised hand, a few muttered words and a searing flash of gold across her irises, the sorceress managed to put all three guards to sleep instantly.

"Wow, why didn't you just do that to me earlier?"

"Um...I didn't think of it at the time?"

Shaking his head he tugged Drudwen along with him to the armory. He boosted her sweet little bottom up into the door behind the shield with no little regret. God he'd love to have her just one more time before she disappeared from his life. He could honestly say he'd never met anyone like her before. Despite her attempts to enchant him, he still found her bloody amazing. Maybe her efforts hadn't entirely gone astray after all.

_What the hell is wrong with me! She's a sorceress! She almost got Guinevere killed. Alright, she's also the sexiest, smartest, most beautiful woman I've ever known. Not to mention that magic pussy of hers! Good God, man, have some discipline! No time, there's no time for any of that now._

Slipping down on the far side of the door, Merlin immediately saw the dress waiting for him. He slipped it on gratefully. He felt far to exposed running through underground corridors in nothing more than a pair of over-sized slippers. Amazingly, Arthur had procured a gown that fit him far better than the one he'd obtained on his own. He turned to see the Prince watching him with hungry eyes.

It was entrancing the way that girl blushed. The way the color bloomed across those amazing cheeks was truly a glorious thing to behold. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to tear that dress back off and take her right up against the wall. He moved closer with intent.

"Arthur? Please, you said there's no time."

"You're right, of course your right. We need to get you out of here."

He led her to the end of the tunnel. He'd used this escape before and after the last time, he'd secretly had the entrance fitted with a removable grate.

"Do you have anywhere you can go when you leave here?"

"I...I'll find somewhere."

He passed her a heavy purse and pressed another kiss to her sweetly curved lips.

"This should be enough to see you cleanly out of Camelot and settled somewhere that's...safer for someone with your...talents."

Her enormous sapphire eyes filled with tears and for the very first time she leaned in and kissed _him_.

"Thank you."

It was the last thing she said before she left him.

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><p>No one questioned anyone <em>entering<em> the city as the warning bell sounded. Only those attempting to leave were interrogated. So when Merlin strolled back through the gates once again wearing breeches, boots and tunic with nary a curve or curl in sight, no one even glanced at him twice.

Though the Prince seemed in a fine temper, when he brought him his breakfast.

"Your late again _Mer_lin! I should have you in the stocks for insubordination! What the hell gives you the right to take a day off in the tavern without even consulting me?"

Merlin couldn't make himself meet Arthur's gaze, choosing instead to stare at a point somewhere over his left shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot...remembering.

"Uh...the tavern?"

"Yes, _Mer_lin the tavern! I had to get that information second hand from Gaius! I needed you yesterday and you were skiving off drowning your misery in ale!"

He still found himself unable to look directly at the Prince.

"I was just really...upset yesterday...about Gwen! I was just upset about Gwen."

Arthur glared at his black haired, blue eyed servant with no little resentment. He couldn't help seeing that sorcerer-girl in his face and it made him ache.

"Oh, go muck out my horses for God's sake. And don't show your face around here for the rest of the day."

For once Merlin was happy to be sent to the stables. He didn't quite feel up to keeping his act up, not today. Clearly, as far as Arthur was concerned, things were already back to normal. Maybe one day they would be for him as well...if he could just get his heart to stop beating.

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><p>Thank you for reading!<p>

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